Banga Bibhushan is a title instituted by the West Bengal Government to honour the services of personalities in various fields. The Banga Bhushan award is also granted.
The award was conceived by Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, on 25 July 2011. The first recipients of this title are Amala Shankar, Mahasweta Devi & Many Others.There is good news for all Sourav Ganguly fans, as the former India captain will be awarded the prestigious Banga Bibhusan award on May 20, along with 24 celebrities including Olympian duo PK Banerjee and Chuni Goswami, actor Mithun Chakraborty, dancer Thankamani Kutti and industrialist BK Birla.
Ganguly, the most successful Indian Test captain, will be honoured by West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan at a function which would also be attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The other awardees include film director Ritoporno Ghosh, football legend Tulsidas Balaram, mountaineer Aung Narvu Sherpa, film actors of yesteryear Sandhya Roy and Sabitri Chatterjee, noted baul singer Purnadas Baul, veteran journalist Amitabha Chowdhury, painter Subhaprasanna and hockey Olympian Gurbux Singh.
Ace tennis player Leander Paes, Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, paddler Poulami Ghatak and former India women’s cricket captain Jhulan Goswami were among those chosen for this year’s ‘Bangabhusan award’, official sources said.
Earlier, legendary playback singer Manna Dey, litterateur and human rights activist Mahasweta Devi, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, dancer Amala Shankar and others were given the award instituted by the West Bengal Government after Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011.
(With inputs from agencies)
